What You Can Do to Find the Best Price for Homeowners Insurance

Understanding Homeowners Insurance Will Allow You and Your Agent to Find the Best Price for Your Situation

Whenever you’re interested in adding a new insurance policy, the first thing that likely comes to mind is how much it’s going to cost. If you have a new home or you’re looking to buy, how can you find the best price for homeowners insurance?

The one problem you’ll likely find is that there is not a definite price for homeowners insurance, because it all depends on your situation. On top of that, the way that every insurance carrier prices their insurance is different. Some claim to be the cheapest, but this might not necessarily be true for you because something with your home might drive their cost up.

It’s difficult to even put a generalization on the cost of homeowners insurance because of how much it differs from person to person. What you can look at, however, is how your situation will likely impact the price that you receive.

To start, let’s look at what homeowners insurance covers. Homeowners insurance is one of the essential forms of personal insurance because it’s a policy that just about everyone is going to need at some point in their lives. While it’s not legally required, if you have a mortgage on your home, your lender is typically going to require that you have this policy.

Homeowners insurance is coverage for the structure of your home, damage to your important assets, and theft. Most damage to your home can be covered by homeowners insurance — but not all of it. Many people think that they’ll be able to have water damage or other natural disasters covered under their homeowners insurance, but this is not always true. Flood and earthquake damage are two types of natural disasters that are not covered under a standard homeowners policy.

Typically, homeowners insurance is split into two different types of coverage. The first part is going to cover your possessions, including your house, and the second part is going to cover any liabilities. This means that if someone is injured on your property and they press charges, the homeowners policy can cover that.

In the past, homeowners insurance used to be called fire insurance, but today it covers so much more. With the right homeowners insurance policy you can have confidence that your house is protected and secure if something happens.

What Factors Are Going to Impact the Cost of Your Homeowners Insurance?

So, how do you determine what the best homeowners insurance policy is for you and your family? One of the big deciding factors will likely be cost, so looking at a few different options is always a good idea. Knowing the factors that will affect the cost of your policy can help you know what path to take. Here are some things to consider:

The area that you live — where your home is located can impact the cost of your policy. If you live in an area that experiences a lot of crime, you can expect to see a more expensive premium

Disasters you may be susceptible to — if you live in an area prone to high winds or tornadoes, for example, you will likely pay a higher premium. Luckily, in Ohio, there aren’t as many natural disasters that homeowners need to worry about compared to many other areas of the country

The age of your home — if you live in a home that was built in 1920, you’re going to pay more than someone who has a new construction home, because your home is going to face more risk for damage

Fire hazards — if there are fire hazards in your home, you might have to pay more than normal to have better coverage

The number of claims you make — this one might be a little obvious, but if you make more claims, you’re going to have to pay more

With homeowners insurance, the safer you can be, the less expensive your policy will be. You can get discounts on your policy if you have a security system, for example. Living in a safer area might also allow you to pay less. Like most insurance policies, you’re going to pay more if you have high risks, so pay attention to what yours are to understand the cost of your premium.

With so many options to consider, it can be stressful to choose an agent who only represents one insurance carrier. However, if you choose to work with an independent insurance agent, you can see a variety of policies because they work with several carriers instead of just one. This way you’ll be able to choose the best from many options instead of getting stuck in a single policy.

Don’t wait until you have to make a claim to get coverage, being proactive is just another way you can save money on your policy. Homeowners insurance can protect you and your family from a number of dangers that could impact where you live. As the place where you spend the most time, your home deserves to have proper protection.